BEHIND THE WALL

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Literally. And so I say cheers to younger cousins who make me do their (art) projects!

It's supposedly a scene in "Ibong Adarna" (a Filipino fable on the eponymous magical bird). Though I think I did something wrong with my drawing of Don Juan (the one with the cape), this output is fairly decent for public viewing, and so I'm posting it here. Ha ha.

Three cheers for my brother who gives the three most special women in his life (I presume) flowers on Valentine's Day! Mind you, he's been like that since he started working and earning money for himself. Isn't that sweet?! I don't even have to be sad about seeing other girls on the street proudly displaying their bouquets of flowers given by their special someone (o baka naman bili lang din nila?) Ha ha. Yo, bro! Salamat!

The stories, for me, are nothing short of inspirational, with some I can somehow relate to. And so, as my way of participating in this cause of spreading positive vibes, I'm sharing these two tiny real-life stories of mine.

Today, it has been exactly two weeks since our cat Minky returned home after leaving the house and staying someplace we knew nothing about, for seven days. We are used to this habit of him in that he always comes home just a few hours after staying outside. This is what we believed in three weeks ago today when he pushed the windows open and went wandering around the neighborhood. But the following morning he didn't come back and we didn't see him, and so on the second until the sixth day. Although we didn't push through with printing posters, there was never a day that we didn't discuss about him being lost. We thought it was more likely that he was dead, crushed by a big truck on his way home. It was also because we knew that he could not fend for himself, look for food in trash bins like what cats do. We were really sad. I was really sad that on the seventh day I became hopeless about seeing him again and sobbed. Later that evening, my sister heard Minky meowing right outside our window, beaten down and covered with what we assumed was grime. He spent the following minutes making up for what he had not eaten for a week, with us adoringly watching him.

Today, I remember the kindness shown to me by a stranger -- a girl about my age -- when I was five. My mom once brought me and my younger siblings to a carnival when we were young, during which I spent most of my time riding a coin-operated kiddie ride. After using up my last one peso coin, I just sat there and watched the other kids enjoying themselves. I looked farther ahead and saw a young girl looking at me. She approached me and asked why my ride wasn't moving. I just looked at her, bewildered by her curiosity. She then inserted a coin in the ride I was sitting on and immediately ran back to where she came from afterwards, leaving me all the more confused. I don't know why, but this childhood memory of mine is so vivid that I can even tell the young girl's hair was black and short and she was wearing a white dress.

I took a trip to the nearest nail salon and had my toenails (yep, just my toenails) painted with GREEN nail polish! Haha. First time! It's not the for-special-occasions red! It's neither the usual, safe colorless! Hooray for this newfound courage! Next will definitely be bright blue.

I don't remember what prompted me to take note of Mary and Max as a must-see film for me last year. Maybe it was because I had read a positive review about it and was talked into proving it myself. Or probably it was because I was enticed by the idea that it could be the first full-length claymation I would lay my eyes on. It could also be that I was just intrigued by the "simplicity" of the film's title and wanted to see for myself the truth behind its rather dull facade. Whatever the reason, I'm glad that it stood me in good stead. Now, I just hope that coming across this write-up would do the same for you.

Mary and Max is a comedy-drama clayography that delves into the 20-year pen friendship between Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore, Toni Collette), a lonely eight-year-old Australian girl, and Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an obese forty-four-year-old Jewish man. A heart-warming story about a friendship that stood the test of time, distance and age gap, this movie in so many ways is unlike childish animated flicks we usually see. It is mature and touches on serious societal issues not commonly discussed (i.e. sex, suicide, depression, mental disability, religious beliefs, among many others) but in a childish frankness approach. This is, in my book, what makes Mary and Max a perfect blend of humor and pain.

Just a few seconds into the film and anyone would be amazed by the amount of passion and talent evident in its every detail, easily reinforced by the fact that Adam Elliot (the film's writer, director and designer) spent five years in making this clay animation.

The animation, though dreary, is excellently done. It made me even think that some of the details were no longer made of clay in that they were so elaborately formed they looked real. It is also commendable that monochromatic hues -- shades of brown for Mary's world, and gray, black and white (along with red in some things intended to depict importance) for Max's -- were employed, as this technique was effective in setting the film's melancholic, dark tone.

I also take my hat off to how each letter was effectively used in developing the characters. The voice talents are superb as well. I was, particularly, impressed with Hoffman's (I honestly don't know him. Is he a Hollywood actor?) voice acting. Max's character would not be that endearing sans this man's participation, I think.

However, one aspect that I personally find disconcerting yet oddly entertaining is the use of rather lively musical background -- the song "Que Sera Sera" -- in the scene where Mary is about to commit what she thinks is the way to end all her sufferings (spoiler alert!).

To sum it up, Mary and Max, though dark, is an enlightenment that would make you think of the friendships you have surrounded yourself with. More importantly, of the one you have with yourself. Friends may come and go, but the one you should never dispense with is being on great terms with yourself. And if you agree with this claim, go (in good health) and spend the next 92 minutes watching this amazing film.

Sending you a virtual hug,Ybeth

P.S. Just so you don't have to stress yourself looking for one, enclosed herewith is a link to a decent copy of Mary and Max.

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QUOTE DU JOUR

AN OFF-THE-WALL OUTPOURING OF WORDS OF INSPIRATION

words leak from my brain. seep out my ear. burble from my crooked mouth. splash on my shirt. trickle into my keyboard. pool on my warped parquet floor. at least they are not gushing from my heart. or. God forbid my ass. i catch the words as they fall. my hands smell. and the place is a wreck. from all the spilled words. -- The Girls

It's not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life; it's what you whisper to yourself that has the most power. -- Robert T. Kiyosaki

The way to do is to be. -- Lao Tzu

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder. -- Henry David Thoreau

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. -- Cayla Mills